Benchmark indices closed in deep red, over 2 per cent lower on Monday.

Market opened on a weak note, tracking negative global cues on soaring oil prices due to fears of banning Russian crude oil imports by the Western nations. . Indices extended losses during the day amid broad-based selling.

The BSE Sensex closed at 52,842.75, down 1,491.06 points or 2.74 per cent. It recorded an intraday high of 53,203.87 and a low of 52,367.10. The Nifty 50 closed at 15,863.15, down 382.20 points or 2.35 per cent. It recorded an intraday high of 15,944.60 and a low of 15,711.45.

Over 2,600 stocks decline

The market breadth was in favour of the decliners - 2,608 stocks declining on the BSE as against 849 that advanced while 137 remained unchanged. Furthermore, 20 stocks hit the upper circuit as compared to the eight that were locked in the lower circuit. Besides, 161 stocks touched a 52-week low level and 97 touched a 52-week high.

ONGC, Hindalco, Coal India, Bharti Airtel and UPL were the top gainers on the Nifty 50 while IndusInd Bank, Maruti, Axis Bank, Britannia and Bajaj Finserv were the top losers.

Brent crude at 14-year high

Investors remained concerned amid the escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine, the rising crude oil prices and the depreciating rupee. Inflation concerns have weighed on investor sentiments. Brent crude oil futures rose to a 14-year high of $139 a barrel in the early trade. Further, the Indian rupee hit a record low against the US dollar. 

The foreign institutional investors continued their selling spree offloading shares worth ₹17,537 crore from the Indian markets in just three trading sessions of March.”

According to Dr Ravi Singh-Vice President and Head of Research-ShareIndia, “The benchmark indices are on massive selling due to  an escalation of war by Russia which is not only impacting the gold and crude but overall commodities prices worldwide.”

“New sanctions against Russia have triggered huge jumps in gold and crude prices. In this scenario when the economies were already struggling to keep the pace of recovery, the fears of stagflation also started to creep in, with concerns over high commodity prices impacting inflation and slowing growth. All these factors are impacting the markets worldwide and investment outflows. Nifty may touch the level of 15500 in near term with a strong prevalent bearish trend,” added Dr Singh further advising investors to remain cautious.

According to Pankaj Pandey, Head – Research, ICICIdirect, the global as well as Indian equities continue to witness correction amid the ongoing Russia Ukraine conflict with the sharp rise in crude prices being a key concern.

“If crude prices sustain at higher levels, it is likely to impact India’s current account deficit as well as fiscal deficit as India imports more than 80 per cent of its total requirement,” Pandey said.

The volatility is likely to continue in the near term till there is clarity over the cessation of this attack. On the domestic front, state elections exit polls and actual results on March 10 would be actively tracked, as per  Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking Ltd.

Metal stocks shine

On the sectoral front, all indices except Nifty Metal closed in the red with financials, realty, auto and FMCG recording higher losses.

Nifty Metal was up over 2 per cent at closing.

Nifty Realty was down over 5 per cent. Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Private Bank were down nearly 5 per cent each. Nifty Bank, Nifty Financial Services and Nifty Auto were each down over 4 per cent. Nifty FMCG was down nearly 3 per cent while Nifty Consumer Durables was down over 2 per cent.

Broader market under pressure

Broader indices also closed in the red.

Nifty Midcap 50 was down 2.20 per cent while Nifty Smallcap 50 was down 1.55 per cent. The S&P BSE Midcap was down 2.25 per cent while the S&P BSE Smallcap was down 2.30 per cent.

The volatility index rose 4.90 per cent to 29.33.

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